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Women fight back in The Furies: Women, Vengeance, and Justice. Journalist and author Elizabeth Flock examines the necessity of female violence in retaliation to the systems that oppress them. Without making it too fantastical and adapted to storytelling, Flock relays the real stories of three women who do just that: Brittany from Alabama, who was assaulted and left to fend for herself, Angoori from India, who fights for victims of domestic abuse, and Cicek Mustafa Zibo, who fights against ISIS with an all-female militia.

Is violence never the answer? Flock would argue that no, sometimes violence is necessary. And yet, these women who achieved great feats will be criticized for their upheaval, even when the institutions in place meant to protect them fail to do so.

Instead of focusing on the violence incited against women, she shifts the narrative. The text is about women standing up for themselves when no one else will. By using the personal stories of these figures, Flock gives insight into what it means to fight back, against all odds, while coming from completely different backgrounds.

But she doesn’t idealize the subjects. While she does use them to develop her argument, the three women are not perfect and the point remains with the acts of violence themselves and not the sainthood of the inciters. However, each story is given justice with an impressive amount of care and detail. Word of warning: The heavy content is expressed vividly on purpose to illustrate the intensity of the situation these women find themselves in.

You can get your copy on Amazon.

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